1988 Volume 79 Issue 1 Pages 35-43
Previously we reported the usefulness of serum and urinary TPA for bladder tumors. In the present study, we performed the histological study of TPA to clarify TPA antigen as a tumor marker.
Since antigenicity of TPA in tissue was not well preserved in formalin paraffin-embedded section, detection of TPA in tissue was performed by using frozen section following periodate-lysine-paraformaldehyde (PLP) fixation. Indirect immunoperoxidase method was used for detecting TPA antigen, which was compared with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), ABH blood group antigen, serum TPA and tissue concentration. The investigated materials were: 45 bladder tumors, 7 other tumors and 14 non-cancerous tissues. TPA could be demonstrated in 71% of bladder tumors. Tissue positive rates in bladder tumors were superior to those in other tumors and normal controls. In individual cells, TPA was present within the cytoplasma and cell membrane. The localization of TPA in tumor tissue was divided into three types, in contrast to normal epithelium. There was no significant correlation between tissue positive rates and grade. As for stages, however, the difference of localization has been found in stages of bladder tumors with or without invasion. Immunoperoxidase staining revealed a positive correlation between tissue stainigng rate and plasma TPA elevation. On the other hand, the localization of TPA was also supposed to be a major factor for positive serum levels. TPA tissue concentration in bladder tumors with positive staining was higher than that in tumor negative tissues and non-cancerous sections. Also, plasma level has been shown to be related to tissue concentration.
The localization of TPA was not identical with that of CEA and ABH antigen. Positive rates of ABH antigens were 58% in bladder tumors. There was a tendency that ABH antigens were often deleted in bladder tumors containing TPA antigens.
